Thill-coupling



Patented Mar. I4, I899.

W. F. SCHUBERTv THILL COUPLING.

(Application filed Oct. 1898.,

2 Sheets-Shoet I.

(No Model.)

' ATTORNEY No. 62|,|56. Patented Mar. l4, I899. W. F. SSHUBERT.

THILL COUPLING.

(Application filed Oct. 26, 189B.)

2 Sheets-Shaat 2.

(No Model.)

INYEN-TOR ATTO NEY Q NITED STATES Fr cE',

WILLIAM F. SCHUBERT, OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK.

THILL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,156, dated March 14, 1899. Application filed October 26,1898. Serial No. 694,596. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. SOHUBERT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Oneida, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Thill-Couplings, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in an antirattling thill-coupling.

The main object of this invention is to produce a coupling which can be readily and easily manipulated, whereby the thills can be quickly attached to and detached from the shackle-ears and, furthermore, the object of the invention is to provide the coupling with simple and effectual means to prevent rattling of the thill in its attachment; and, still further, the object is to provide a thill-coupling which shall be simple, strong, and durable in construction, efficient in its operation, and at the same time inexpensive in its manufacture; and the object is also to provide a coupling device which can be used in con nection with the usual and well-'known'shackleears and thill-iron now commonly in use, thus obviating the necessity of providing a special construction of said parts; and to that end the invention consists in the improved construction of the component parts of the thillcoupling hereinafter described.

a of the clip. Said clip is provided with shackleears b b for the attachment of the thill.

t represents the thill-iron, formed with the usual coupling-eye t, which is inserted between the shackle-ears and secured thereto by means of the coupling-pin c. Said pin is formed with a limb o and with a bar 0 extending from said limb and parallel to the pin.

d is a spring-arm formed at one end into a loop by which it pivotally embraces the afore= said bar 0 which bar is screw-threaded on its free end portion and provided with a nut h to retain the pin in connection with the spring-arm.

f denotes a lever which is fulcrumed on a link 6, which link, when in coupling position, is hung from a hook a, formed on the rear end of the clip-bar a. Said lever is pivotally connected near its fulcrum to the spring-arm d, preferably by means of a pin d passing through a bifurcation formed on the lever and through a loop formed at the rear end of said spring-arm, which loop is inserted in said bifurcation.

d represents a tongue formed integral with the spring-arm d and extending from the loop which embraces the bar 0 Said tongue enters between the shackle-ears 5 Z) and bears with its upper portion on the back of the coupling-eye t of the thill-iron t,and is formed with a shoulder t', by which it bears on'the front end of the clip-bar a.

The operation of the thill-coupling is as follows: The coupling-pin a being inserted in the shackle-ears b b and coupling-eye t, the link is placed in engagement with the hook at on the clip-bar a. Then by pushing up the lever f the spring-arm d is caused to turn on the bar 0 of the coupling-pin, whereby the tongue at is forced upward and wedged between the clip-bar and coupling-eye of the thill-iron i, and thus the thill-iron is effectually prevented from rattling in its attachment and the coupling-pin firmly held in its locking position. To detach the thill from the vehicle, the lever f is pushed down and the link removed from the hook ct. Then by swinging the bar 0 of the coupling-pin c forward and upward the tongue d is withdrawn from between the shackle-ears, whereby the pin 0 can be removed from the shackle-ears and coupling-eye.

It will be observed in the attachment of the thill that in pushing up the lever f and by reason of the tongue d bearing against the thill-iron t the loop formed at the forward end of the spring-arm d is caused to firmly grip the bar 0 whereby the coupling-pin 0 will be retained in the shackle-ears b b and coupling-eye t of the thill-iron should the nut it become lost off from the bar 0 I do not wish to be limited to the specific means shown and described for attaching the spring-arm to the coupling-pin, inasmuch as said arm may be otherwise pivotally connected to the pin; nor do I Wish to be limited to the tongue being formed integral with the spring-arm, as the same may be formed separate from the arm and provided with suit able attaching devices. Neither do I limit myself to the attachment of the lever to the spring-arm or its fulcrum, as the same are subject of many modifications without departing from the spirit of my invention.

lVhat I claim is In combination with the axle-clip formed with shackle-ears, the clip-bar, and thill-iron, a coupling-pin having a bar formed integral therewith and parallel thereto, a spring-arm formed with a loop pivotally embracing, said bar, a tongue formed integral with the spring- 20 W'ILLIAM F. SCHUBERT. [L. s]

Witnesses:

JOSEPH D. SENN, WILLIAM F. SNOW. 

